Battle City
by Cowardly Dragon
Summary: A retelling of the Battle City tournament in Ryou's point of view if the Spirit of the Millennium Ring had been pretending to be a good guy the whole time.


**Attention people who read Spirit Keeper: I finally managed to write a proper story for Chapter 4! Originally I was only going to write Ryou's point of view, but a friend told me it was too confusing so I added summaries of what was happening around him.**

 **Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Battle City tournament only lasted for 2 days overall? That's what I gathered from reading the manga. Also the Duelist Kingdom tournament only lasted for 3 days I think.**

 **Please note that I was relying on the free online manga scanslations rather than the official manga translations.**

* * *

Ryou's POV

It was the first day of the Battle City tournament, and Jounouchi had recently defeated Insector Haga in a duel. Anzu, Ryou, and Yugi's Grandpa had been standing in the sidelines, watching the entire duel. After Jounouchi won, they all cheered and applauded.

 _He's so cool_ , Ryou thought.

After the newly won locator cards and Insect Queen were in Jounouchi's hands, they all started to walk down the street together in search of another opponent. But all of a sudden, Ryou felt one of the Millennium Ring's prongs moving on its own against his chest. He halted in his steps and turned around to look in the direction that the prong seemed to be pointing at.

"Hey Bakura! What's the matter?" Anzu said.

"Oh…sorry." Ryou blushed. In his distraction, he had failed to notice that he had fallen behind from the rest of the group. He quickly ran to catch up with them.

While Jounouchi, Anzu, and Yugi's Grandpa began having a conversation with one another, Ryou began chatting with the Spirit of the Millennium Ring through their mind-link.

" _A new Millennium Item has appeared. Let's go check it out,"_ the Spirit's voice echoed inside Ryou's head.

" _But what about the others?"_ Ryou said into the mind-link.

" _You can just pretend that you got distracted and accidentally wandered off,"_ said the Spirit. This was something that Ryou did all the time, and his friends would not be surprised by it.

Ryou considered his options. A part of him wanted to watch Jounouchi duel some more, but the Millennium Items were more important. _"Well, alright. But before we go, let me screw with Jounouchi one last time."_

Ryou began talking out loud to join in on his friends' conversation. "You know what's funny, Jounouchi? You've won a lot of rare cards, like Jinzo and Insect Queen, but they're all weird and scary!"

Jounouchi cringed. "Shut up! It's not like I wanted them!"

"Actually, I like them! I love grotesque cards! I wish I had them in my deck!," Ryou said cheerfully.

"Huh? You have a deck too?" Jounouchi looked surprised.

"Yeah!" Ryou took out his deck and brandished it in the air. "See? It's an occult-themed deck!"

"Ugh…o-occult!? I'm definitely not dueling you!"

"Don't be so afraid!"

Afterwards, Jounouchi stopped paying attention to Ryou and activated his Duel Disk's search sensor. As he ran off in search of an opponent, Anzu and Yugi's Grandpa ran after him, and this time none of them noticed that Ryou wasn't following them.

After his friends were out of sight, Ryou doubled over in a fit of giggles. Jounouchi's reaction had been priceless!

" _Are you done?"_ The Spirit said, growing impatient.

Ryou wiped away a tear and finally managed to stop laughing. _"Yeah, sorry. You can take control now."_

* * *

Once Dark Bakura took over, he stole a Duel Disk and followed the direction of the Ring's prong until he located the Millennium Rod and met Malik for the first time. Although they distrusted one another, they discovered that their interests coincided, so they started working together.

They struck a deal: Bakura would help Malik obtain the God Cards and kill Yugi in exchange for the Millennium Rod and for information on how to open the Door of Darkness. To do that, they devised up a plan.

"If you want to hurt Yugi, the easiest way is to go through his friends," Bakura said. He had been using his host for that very purpose.

"I know. I already plan to use them. That's why I've got this Millennium Rod," said Malik annoyedly. In fact he had just been about to brainwash Jounouchi and Anzu right before Bakura had showed up.

"Their bond is strong. They'll know instantly that you're up to no good. If you want to get close enough to brainwash them without raising suspicion, the best way is to…" Bakura smirked, "pretend to be friends with them." He had been doing this exact thing to his host ever since the Duelist Kingdom tournament.

"Oh?" Malik was intrigued. This was an idea that he never would've come up with on his own.

"I'm going to enter the tournament to help you keep an eye on Yugi. Most of his companions distrust me, but I have a convenient hiding place: my host. Maybe that could prove useful? I can use him to help you gain their trust," Bakura said with a devious smile.

"'Host,' eh?" Malik was amused. What an unusual term to call a vessel. "And how will you do that?"

"My answer is this." Bakura took out a knife and licked it. "I'll inflict an injury on my host. You can pretend you found him lying in the street. When you deliver him to his companions, they'll trust you immediately."

Bakura cut himself on the arm and laughed maniacally. The pain was sweet and delicious; it fueled his fire and made him feel alive. He threw the knife into the ocean and said, "I'll lend you my host." Then he went back into the Ring and the human boy came out, falling to the floor.

Malik touched the Rod against the boy to take control of his mind. Next, Malik used the sharp edge of the Rod to tear up the boy's jacket and created a makeshift bandage for the bleeding arm. Then finally, he went to deliver the boy to his friends.

* * *

Ryou's POV

When Ryou woke up, he was in pain. Horrible, unbearable pain.

"Hang in there! Are you okay?" said an unfamiliar voice. There was a stranger holding Ryou up by the shoulders, helping him walk. Ryou tried to speak, but all he could manage was a groan. Anzu and Jounouchi, who just happened to be standing nearby, caught sight of Ryou and were completely shocked.

"What happened to him? He's cut!" Anzu said.

"Bakura, man! Listen to me! Who did this to you?" Jounouchi was saying.

"Jounouchi…" Ryou could barely get his voice to work. "I-I don't know. I don't remember."

Ryou's mind was so clouded that he couldn't think straight. His arm was bleeding profusely, and he hadn't felt this much pain since the time when the Spirit had impaled his hand on a plastic tower.

Two hostile men arrived at the scene and seemed to be angry with Ryou. "Thanks for stealing my Duel Disk!" one of them said.

"Y-your Duel Disk?" When Ryou looked down at his injured arm, he realized for the first time since he woke up that a Duel Disk was strapped to it. "How did I…? I don't know how it got here…"

The men didn't believe him. "Yeah right. Just give it back." They began marching closer, getting ready to attack.

"Stop it! He's hurt!" The first stranger, the Egyptian-looking one who had helped Ryou find his friends, stood in the way and got punched in the face in the process.

 _What a kind person_ , Ryou thought. They didn't even know each other, and yet this new friend was making such a huge effort to help. Ryou would have to ask for his name and thank him properly when this was all over.

After Jounouchi beat up the two men, Yugi's Grandpa hailed a cab and took Ryou to the hospital.

* * *

Once the boy and the old man were out of the way, Malik pretended to make friends with Anzu and Jounouchi and used the Rod to brainwash them. He forced Jounouchi and Yugi to go up against each other in a duel, but it didn't work because Jounouchi broke free from the mind-control by sheer force of will.

* * *

While riding in the cab on the way to the hospital, Ryou finally got a chance to ask the Spirit, _"What happened?"_

The Spirit answered, _"There's a dangerous man with a Millennium Item who's running around Domino City causing mayhem. He wants to kill Yugi."_

Ryou's eyes widened with alarm. _"Is it because he wants to steal the Millennium Puzzle?"_

" _No, he doesn't care about the Puzzle. All he wants is Yugi's life."_

" _But why!?"_

" _I don't know his reasons,"_ the Spirit told the truth.

Ryou began to feel anxious. Dozens of people have wanted to steal Yugi's Puzzle before, but it was unusual for somebody to want to kill him. What could Yugi have possibly done to deserve so much hate?

" _Who is he?"_ Ryou asked.

" _I don't know what he looks like, but his name is Malik. He's got the Millennium Rod, which has the power to control peoples' minds."_

Ryou's anxiety was increasing, and it was making his arm hurt more and more.

The Spirit began telling a story. _"We were attacked by a large group of men who were under Malik's mind-control. They surrounded us and forced me to duel them. I won, but Malik got mad and ordered his men to kill us. I managed to fight them off, but not before one of them stabbed us with a knife."_

" _So that's how we got the arm injury,"_ Ryou mused.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Yugi's Grandpa helped Ryou walk inside, and they obtained a first-aid kid.

While his arm was being bandaged up, Ryou suddenly remembered the two men who had been angry with him earlier. _"Why did those guys think we took their Duel Disk from them?"_ he asked.

" _Now that they've been freed from Malik's mind-control, they don't remember putting the Duel Disk on my arm. They think I stole it from them,"_ the Spirit said without skipping a beat.

" _We have to find a way to give it back to them after this is all over,"_ Ryou mused.

As each second ticked by, Ryou felt himself growing weaker and weaker. He desperately wanted to lie down and rest.

Yugi's Grandpa finished bandaging up Ryou's arm. "There you go. Now wait here as I check you into the hospital," he said, and he turned his back on Ryou.

The Spirit saw his opportunity and took it. _"Why don't you let me take over? I respond to pain better than you do,"_ he offered.

" _Yes please. Thank you, Spirit."_ Ryou had never been so eager to relinquish control of his body.

* * *

General POV

Dark Bakura slipped out of the hospital before anyone noticed, won six locator cards from random people (whom he sent to the Shadow Realm afterwards), and entered the Battle City finals.

Malik showed up at the finals and introduced himself to Yugi, pretending to be a friend. "Hello, I'm Namu! Nice to meet you!" he said, holding out his hand for a handshake. Yugi took the hand and shook it. Then Rishid showed up and made everyone think that he was Malik.

At long last, it was time for the Battle City finals to begin. Round 1: Ryou Bakura vs. Yugi Mutou

Dark Bakura and Dark Yugi stood face-to-face on the roof of the airship and stared each other down. "Yugi…there's only one reason I entered this tournament! I want your God Card!" Bakura said right before the duel began. Dark Yugi was confused about Dark Bakura's motivations but made no comment.

At first Bakura was winning, but then Dark Yugi summoned Slifer. And that's when Malik stepped in. By using the power of the Millennium Rod, Malik brought the real Ryou back out, and everyone watched in stunned silence as the boy fell to the floor, crying out in pain.

* * *

Ryou's POV

When Ryou woke up, he was in more agony than he had ever been in his entire life.

"My arm…it hurts."

He sank down to his knees and gasped for breath. His body was so cold that his hands were completely numb. Frigid, icy wind was whipping at his face and stabbing at his arm, intensifying the throb of the injury.

"Bakura!" Dark Yugi shouted worriedly.

When Ryou looked up, noticed he was in the middle of a duel. "Yugi? Where am I? Why am I…?"

He didn't understand what was happening. Wasn't he supposed to be in the hospital? None of this made any sense. Apparently the Spirit had been dueling Yugi, but he didn't understand why.

" _Spirit…where are you…?"_

Usually when Ryou talked to the Spirit, he immediately got an answer. But this time there was no response.

" _Spirit, please…it hurts…"_

The Ring remained silent. He couldn't understand why the Spirit wasn't speaking to him.

Since his other self wasn't responding, Ryou pleaded aloud to Yugi's other self instead. "Yugi…it really hurts. Please…"

Although Dark Yugi seemed to be worried, he didn't make a move to help, and Ryou was forced to endure for several more agonizing minutes.

" _Please, Spirit…if you can hear me, please,_ please _retake control. I don't think I can bear this for much longer..."_

* * *

General POV

"As you can see, that boy is badly wounded. An attack from the Sky Dragon will grant you victory…but the shock could very well take that boy's life," Rishid said while pretending to be Malik.

 _You're using Bakura's life as a shield?!_ Dark Yugi thought. _Why you filthy–_

"Continue the battle, Yugi!" said the referee. "Players may only have five minutes to think on each turn! You have thirty seconds left!"

Dark Yugi was at a stalemate. If he attacked, his friend would die, but he didn't attack, he would lose the duel. He didn't know what to do.

Dark Bakura watched the duel with a look of disapproval. "So that's your game, Malik. You've tired Yugi's hands."

"As per our agreement," Malik said with a grin. He was quite proud of himself for coming up with this idea.

" _Please, Spirit…it hurts…please…"_

As he listened to his host's constant pleading, Bakura grew angrier and angrier by the second. "Even I have ways I like and dislike to win. Stay out of this Malik!" he shouted, and he retook control.

Dark Bakura stood up again and allowed Yugi to win the duel. "Yugi! I'll let you win this round! Attack me!" he said. If Ryou died, Bakura would die too. He needed his host to stay alive until he opened the opened the Door of Darkness. Also, Bakura just really, _really_ wanted to be hit with a God Card. "Do it Yugi!" he begged, his eyes growing wild with excitement.

"You asked for it!" Dark Yugi said. "Go! Slifter! Thunder Force!"

Slifer unleashed a huge wave of energy from its mouth, and Bakura laughed manically as he relished in the pleasure of the attack. Oh what sweet, sweet delicious pain! He hadn't had this much fun in three millennia.

The attack caused the Millennium Ring to go flying off into the air, and Ryou gained possession of his body again and fell to the ground. The boy was carried inside and put into a hospital bed. Then Malik took control of Anzu's mind and made her put the Ring back on Ryou.

* * *

Ryou's POV

As Ryou's body was resting in the hospital bed, Ryou and the Spirit stood face-to-face in the hallway that connected their soulrooms, each of them positioned in front of his own door. Fuming with anger, Ryou went off on a tangent. "What in the world were you thinking!? You were supposed to stay in the hospital! We're injured for goodness sake! We're in no condition to go running around entering a tournament!" He didn't often show this side of his personality, but he had just endured one of the most traumatizing experiences of his life, and he was righteously furious.

The Spirit knew exactly what to say to make Ryou calm down. "Malik is trying to kill Yugi! Are you really willing to lie around and do nothing while your friend's life is in danger?"

Ryou was rendered silent.

"Didn't think so," the Spirit had won the argument.

"How was entering the tournament supposed to help Yugi?" Ryou questioned. He wasn't angry anymore, but he was still confused by the Spirit's actions.

"It was part of my plan to defeat Malik. I teamed up with him," the Spirit explained.

Ryou blinked, unable to process what he had heard. "You tried to defeat Malik by teaming up with him…?" It didn't make any sense.

"We struck a deal: I would give him the God Cards in exchange for the Millennium Rod. Then we'd able to give the Rod to Yugi. That's why I entered the Battle City tournament. I needed to duel Yugi and Kaiba for their God Cards."

"Oh, I see." Ryou nodded in understanding.

"It was very easy for me to gain Malik's trust. Most of your friends already think I'm evil."

"Yeah…" Ryou sighed. He was still trying to find a way to convince everybody that the Spirit was on the side of good.

"After the Rod was safely in our hands, I was planning to steal the God Cards back from Malik before he had a chance to use them," the Spirit finished.

Ryou narrowed his eyes disapprovingly. "Stealing is wrong, Spirit…"

"Malik is evil, so it's okay to steal from him," the Spirit reasoned.

"I don't know about that…"

"Are you doubting me?"

Ryou immediately felt guilty. "No! It's not that! It's just…although you have good intentions, I find your methods somewhat questionable."

"It doesn't matter what my methods are as long as the ends justify the means. Might I remind you that your friends' lives are at stake? You should be more worried about them."

"Ah…yes. You're right, I'm sorry."

Dark Bakura smiled to himself. His host was so incredibly easy to guilt-trip.

"How was the duel with Yugi? Did you use the strategy I came up with?" Ryou asked.

"Yes I did, and it worked very well. It was a brilliant strategy."

Ryou beamed. It wasn't often that the Spirit gave praise.

"Did you win?" Ryou asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately no," the Spirit grunted. "I was about to, but then Yugi brought out his God Card and the possession didn't work on it."

"Aww…" Ryou was disappointed. It had taken him weeks to perfect that strategy, and the one time it got used, it ended up being a loss. But he didn't let himself feel too bad about it. After all, Yugi was a strong duelist.

"What happened in the middle of it though? Why had I been conscious?" Ryou suddenly wondered.

"It wasn't me who did that. It was Malik," the Spirit told the truth. "Yugi was about to win by hitting me with an attack from his God Card, but then Malik had the idea of bringing you out in order to dissuade Yugi from going through with it. Your mind is less resilient than mine, and the shock of the attack might've taken your life."

Ryou took a second to process it. When it finally sank in, he opened his mouth in horror. "He used my life as a shield...!"

The Spirit nodded gravely. "After that, I retook control and allowed Yugi to attack me. It cost me the duel, but at least you're safe."

Ryou was touched. "Thank you for worrying about me, but I don't think Yugi would've attacked me anyway."

"I couldn't risk it," the Spirit admitted.

Ryou smiled. It was nice to know that the Spirit cared so much.

"So what does Malik look like? Who is he, really?" Ryou said after a pause.

"You remember that guy who helped you find your friends when you woke up the first time?"

Ryou nodded.

"As it turns out, that _was_ Malik. He was only using you as a means to get close enough to Jounouchi and Anzu to take control of them," the Spirit said.

"Oh my…" Ryou was shocked. Many different kinds of villains had challenged Yugi in the past, but Ryou couldn't think of anyone who pretended to be one of the good guys.

"That's why I snuck out of the hospital. When I found out about what Malik was doing, I couldn't just sit around and do nothing."

Ryou felt grateful. "I'm sorry I doubted you earlier. Thank you for trying so hard to save them."

* * *

General POV

Round 2: Jounouchi vs. Rishid (who was still pretending to be Malik).

During the course of the duel, Jounouchi started to doubt that Rishid was actually Malik. It was because Rishid's dueling tactics were too "nice," whereas Malik's tactics were cheap and underhanded. Therefore, Malik ordered Rishid to summon the fake God Card and use it against Jounouchi. Rishid had been reluctant, but he obeyed in the end.

Unfortunately the real God Card got mad and attacked both Jounouchi and Rishid, and both of the duelists fell to the ground unconscious. Jounouchi somehow managed to stand up again before five minutes were up, but Rishid ended up being hospitalized.

Winner: Jounouchi

When Malik saw his brother being hurt, he had a panic attack and started remembering things from his traumatizing childhood. As a result, his dark personality took over his body.

The first thing that Dark Malik tried to do after gaining control was go into the hospital room and try to kill Rishid. However he got chosen to participate in the third round of the tournament, so he decided to put off killing Rishid until after the duel.

Round 3: Mai vs. Dark Malik

Winner: Dark Malik

After Mai lost the duel, Dark Malik gave her a penalty game, and she fell into a coma until the end of the tournament. Then he watched Ishizu duel with Kaiba.

Round 4: Kaiba vs. Ishizu

Ishizu was about to kill Kaiba by hitting him with his own God Card's attack. Out of all the possible futures that the Millennium Necklace showed her, this was the only way to win the duel so that she could proceed to the next round and save her brother Malik's life. However, Kaiba changed his mind about using the God Card at the last moment and used his Blue Eyes instead, and the future was changed.

Winner: Kaiba

Ishizu realized that she shouldn't rely so much on the Millennium Necklace's guidance, so she gave it to the Pharaoh.

After he had finished watching the duel, Dark Malik went back into the ship, planning to kill Rishid.

* * *

Ryou's POV

During the middle of the night, Ryou welcomed the Spirit into his soulroom and gave a tour. Ryou had never shown his room to the Spirit before. Their present situation was rather gloomy, but they might as well make the best of it and take the time to bond with one another.

"I would prefer for you to put on a jacket before going outside," Ryou was saying. "It was freezing out there on the roof. What happened to the blue one I had on before?"

"Malik tore it up and used it as a bandage for you arm," the Spirit said.

Ryou groaned. That had been his favorite jacket. What a waste.

"Still, that's no excuse for going outside in only a short-sleeved shirt," Ryou scolded. "Even if you didn't have a jacket, there are other things you could've done. You could have wrapped yourself up in a blanket."

The Spirit grimaced. "Don't be absurd. Do you have any idea how silly I'd look if I went out there wearing a blanket? It'd be an insult to my pride as a Duelist."

"What good is Duelist's pride when it puts you in agony?" Ryou argued. "I don't understand how you're able to endure so much pain."

"I don't endure it; I relish it. Pain is a very good source of energy," the Spirit explained.

Ryou froze when it registered in his head. "You… _enjoy_ being in pain?"

"Quite a whole lot," the Spirit said proudly.

Ryou was beginning to feel a little bit disturbed.

All of a sudden, Malik wildly swung the door to Ryou's soulroom wide open and barged inside. The two Bakuras, who had been standing in the middle of the room talking to one another, both turned to look at Malik in surprise.

"Please! You have to help me save my brother!" Malik said desperately.

He quickly explained what had happened. He told them about his abusive childhood and the alternate ego he had accidentally created as a result of it. His dark personality had taken complete control of his body and was running around the ship causing havoc, and his brother Rishid's life was in danger. He also explained the reason why he had wanted to kill Yugi; he thought that Yugi had killed his father, but in fact it had been his own dark personality's doing all along.

Ryou put a hand on Malik's shoulder to comfort him. "Don't worry! We'll help you save your brother!"

"But there's a price. You remember our agreement from earlier…?" the Spirit said.

"Oh…right…you have to give us your Millennium Rod afterwards," Ryou agreed. He felt guilty about adding the ultimatum, but truthfully he wanted to gather all of the Items just as much as the Spirit did.

"It's a deal," Malik understood. He would have to hand over the Millennium Rod _and_ the information about the Door of Darkness in exchange for Dark Bakura's assistance.

"Okay, I'm going outside," the Spirit said.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Ryou offered.

"Stay inside the Ring," the Spirit ordered. "You'll just get in the way if you try to do anything."

"Ah…yes…sure thing," Ryou said meekly. His lack of self-esteem prevented him from protesting. He gave the Spirit a trusting smile. "Go on Spirit! I know you can do it! I'm rooting for you!"

Thus, Dark Bakura took possession of his host's body again, and Malik appeared in transparent form beside him. Once the boy was completely unconscious, Malik shot Bakura a questioning look.

"What sort of lies have you been telling him to make him trust you so much?" Malik said, beginning to feel disturbed.

Bakura simply smiled.

* * *

General POV

In the hospital room, Dark Malik was right about to kill Rishid, but Dark Bakura showed up and stopped him. Both Darknesses went up against each other in a duel, but Bakura lost, and he and his host were both sent to the Shadow Realm until the tournament was over. Dark Malik picked up the Millennium Ring and put it on.

Malik had been sent to the Shadow Realm too, but a piece of his soul had been implanted inside Anzu's mind, so he borrowed her body to communicate with Ishizu. Therefore they were able to hide Rishid's body before Dark Malik killed him.

And thus the crazy night was over.

* * *

The tournament continued on to the second day and took place on a giant tower.

Round 5: Jounouchi vs. Dark Malik. Jounouchi got hit with a God Card and died.

Winner: Dark Malik

Round 6: Dark Yugi vs. Kaiba. This time neither of them used a God Card to attack the other, and nobody was hospitalized.

Winner: Dark Yugi

After the round was over, the possession of Obelisk got transferred from Kaiba to Yugi, and Jounouchi came back from the dead.

Round 7: Dark Yugi vs. Dark Malik

During the course of the final duel, Rishid finally woke up and made his way into the top of the tower where he gave Malik an uplifting speech. Thus, Malik gained the will to live again and banished his dark side to the Shadow Realm.

Winner: Dark Yugi

The Battle City tournament had ended. Mai woke up from her coma, Ryou's body returned to the real world, and the Spirit returned to the Millennium Ring.

The three Ishtar siblings reconciled with one another and decided to begin a new life together as a family. After apologizing for his actions, Malik showed everyone the ancient engravings on his back and told the Pharaoh how to regain his memories. Afterwards he gave both the Rod and Ring to the Pharaoh.

Bakura was mad about being double-crossed, but Malik technically had kept his side of the deal. Their agreement had been that he would hand over the Rod and the information about the Door of Darkness, but they never said anything about giving the Ring back to Ryou.

Kaiba announced that he was going to blow up the tower in an hour, and everybody ran back into the airship in a state of panic.

* * *

Ryou's POV

Ryou woke up in a pile of rubble.

After climbing out, the first thing he noticed was that the Millennium Ring was missing. He wasn't entirely sure about what had happened, but he could venture a guess. The Spirit must have failed to defeat Malik's dark self.

Clutching his arm, he went inside the ship and began searching for the Ring. At first the entire ship seemed to be completely empty of people, but then he found Mai's room. As soon as she saw him, she was appalled by his haggard appearance and made him take a shower.

Once Ryou had washed up, Mai helped him bandage up his arm. They talked for a bit about what had happened during the tournament, each of them sharing the little bits of information that they knew. As it turned out, it was already the end of the tournament! Ryou could scarcely believe it. He missed out on _everything_.

After a while, they heard voices coming from down the hallway outside. Mai quickly whispered a plan she had about pretending she had died in order to screw with everybody. Ryou didn't think it would work, but it did.

"I'm sorry Jounouchi, she stopped breathing," Ryou said with mock sadness.

Everyone began to panic.

"Please wake up! Please!" Jounouchi shouted as tears began welling up in his eyes.

Eventually Mai couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. "You were crying!?" She was genuinely touched that everyoune cared about her so much.

Ryou doubled over in a fit of giggles. It seemed that Mai had the same sense of humor that he did.

After the joke was over, Ryou decided it was time to continue his search for the Ring. "Have you seen my Millennium Ring?" he asked Dark Yugi. "I haven't been able to find it since I woke up."

"Sorry, I haven't seen it," Dark Yugi said.

" _It's a white lie, but let's not tell Bakura that we have the Millennium Ring,"_ the real Yugi said to his other self.

" _Indeed. There's a danger of his dark side waking up,"_ Dark Yugi agreed.

Ryou wanted to go to the tower to look for his Ring, but Honda quickly explained that Kaiba was about to blow it up, and Ryou had no choice but to stay on the ship. Time was slipping away and the tower was about to blow up in five minutes…and yet the Kaiba brothers hadn't boarded the ship, which meant they were probably still on the island. Was Kaiba trying to kill himself because he lost to Yugi? What a devastating thought. Everybody began searching for him in a state of panic.

"Crud! He's not here either! Ryou, what about over there?" Jounouchi said.

"No luck. I can't find him," Ryou said, pretending to be worried, but in reality he was actually searching for the Millennium Ring.

While pretending to search for Kaiba, Ryou randomly wandered into Yugi's room. To his delight, the Millennium Ring was on the table!

"Here it is! I finally found it!" Ryou eagerly picked up the Ring and put it on, tucking it neatly underneath his shirt.

Suddenly he realized something. If the Ring had been in Yugi's room all along, it meant that Yugi had been lying about not knowing where it was. "Why didn't he tell me he had it?" he wondered out loud. But he would worry about that later. Right now he needed to act like he was worried about Kaiba so that the others would not become suspicious.

As it turned out, they didn't need to worry. Right as the island began exploding, the Kaiba brothers took off on their own private jet. Everybody stood on the roof of the ship and watched as the brothers flew off into the horizon, and once the jet was out of sight, they all began talking about the tournament.

Ryou's friends were more fearful and distrustful of the Spirit than ever before. They didn't know the Spirit's true motivations; all they knew was that he had been working with Malik.

"Why were you wearing the Millennium Ring again? You should've known better than to put it on!" Honda was saying.

Ryou rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He didn't know how to respond.

"I made him put it on when I took control of his mind," Malik spoke up.

"Oh." Everyone accepted the explanation without a second thought.

Ryou gave Malik a small smile, trying to communicate a silent "thanks." But for some reason, Malik barely even made eye contact before turning away.

Malik pitied the poor boy – he really did. Someday Ryou was going to find out the truth about the Ring Spirit and be terribly heartbroken, but for now, it wouldn't hurt to let him live in blissful ignorance.

Ryou was confused about why Malik was giving him the cold shoulder, but he ventured a guess. _He probably feels guilty about what he did to me._

* * *

Ryou snapped out of a trance while he was walking down the ship's hallway. _What was I doing?_ he thought. He must have spaced out again; it was something that he did all the time without meaning to.

"The Millennium Ring is gone!" Yugi's voice cried out in alarm.

The door to Yugi's room was partially open, and Ryou could see Yugi standing beside the table where the Ring had been. Yugi's back was turned towards the door, thus he didn't notice Ryou standing outside.

"What do you think could've happened to it?" Yugi was saying.

Ryou considered going inside and telling Yugi the truth.

"You don't think Bakura might have taken it, do you?" Yugi said worriedly.

After a moment of hesitation, Ryou quietly scampered away before Yugi could see him. _"It's a white lie, but let's not tell Yugi that I'm wearing the Ring again."_

" _Indeed. I don't think he trusts me anymore,_ " the Spirit agreed.

Ryou finally understood why Yugi had hid the Ring from him. The Spirit's act had been too convincing while pretending to team up with Malik, and everyone misunderstood the situation.

How was he ever going to convince his friends that the Spirit was on the side of good? Yugi and Ryuji had been convinced after the DDD game, but now it seemed that they had changed their minds.

" _Yugi managed to win the God Cards on his own, and Malik would have handed his Rod over to Yugi even without our intervention._ _Therefore there was never any need for us to enter the tournament in the first place,"_ Ryou said sadly. The more he thought about the Battle City events, the gloomier he felt. Yugi and his other self were heroes, but Ryou and the Spirit were cursed. The Millennium Ring brought misfortune to everyone who came in contact with it. _"Next time we should just stay out of the way and let Yugi do all the work. We tried to help, but all we did was make the situation worse."_


End file.
